The present invention relates to a packaged toy product, which product comprises a number of toy elements, and wherein the associated packaging comprises a box with a bottom face and a top face and a number of lateral faces that extend between the bottom face and the top face; and wherein the top face is provided with at least one transparent opening that allows a viewer to see at least a part of the matter contained in the packaging through the transparent opening in the top face; and wherein said packaging is configured with at least one compartment in which one or more of the toy elements that are constituents of the toy product are arranged, said compartment being located underneath the transparent opening in the top face of the box, whereby the matter contained in the compartment can be seen through said transparent opening.
Several embodiments of such packaged toy products are known wherein the compartment is configured in such a manner that the product contained in the compartment is secured in such a way that the viewer can readily see the toy product contained in the box in its entirety or at least partially.
In connection with certain types of toys, such as toy building sets, it is desired in particular that only a part of the matter contained therein is visible to the viewer of the packaged product, many constituent components of such toy building set being arranged more or less disorganised in compartments, boxes or bags intended therefor in the packaging.
Therefore packaged toy building products are also known in which only a few parts of the product contained in the packaging can be seen through the transparent opening in the lid; and wherein the remaining parts of the toy product stay hidden to the viewer underneath the lid.
In the light of this it is the object of the present invention to provide a packaged product of the kind described above, wherebyxe2x80x94in addition to easy display of single constituents of the toy product contained in the packagingxe2x80x94it is also possible to a certain degree to manipulate this product in such a manner that it is possible to play with the product contained in the packaging without opening said packaging.
In accordance with the present invention this is obtained in that the compartment is configured as an elongated path, and wherein the elongated path contains at least one toy element, said toy element having such height and width that allow the toy building element to be shifted a distance along the path by movement of the packaging, said path corresponding at least to the largest dimension of the toy element.
According to a preferred embodiment, the transparent opening in the top face has a width in the top face plane that corresponds to the width of the path. This is useful in particular when the top face next to the path is to be provided with pictures or prints depicting other constituents of the product contained in the packaging in organised or assembled state.
It is furthermore preferred that the transparent opening in the top face follows the path in the entire longitudinal direction of the path.
In a further preferred embodiment the transparent opening is closed in the plane of the top face by means of a transparent plastics film which eliminates the need for separate packaging elements for final closing of the packaging.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, the bottom face 5 is provided with a removable insert, which insert consists of a unit having a top face which has essentially the same shape as the internal dimensions of the bottom face, and wherein the path is configured as an indentation in the top face of the insert, and said top face being provided with a support that lifts the top face on the insert up below the top face of the packaging thereby enabling the top face of the packaging to simultaneously serve as lid for the path.
In this context the insert can advantageously consist of a plastics sheet shaped in a vacuum-shaping process which means that this part of the packaging can be manufactured in a simple and inexpensive manner.
In a further preferred embodiment the insert is, the path apart, configured such that it has one or more further compartments arranged in the top face of the insert, said further compartments serving to contain other toy elements in the packaging.
If, in this context, the top face has at least one further transparent opening that allows a viewer to see at least a part of the contents of the further compartments through the transparent opening in the top face of the packaging, it is accomplished that some of the remaining constituents of the toy product can be rendered visible to the viewer.
Particularly advantageously, the path forms a road that comprises at least one turn since it is hereby accomplished that paths are formed that have different shapes which encourages testing of the product contained in the packaging and whereby different effects can be accomplished by movement of the packaging.
Besides, the packaged toy product can advantageously contain two or more paths, and provided each path contains one or more displaceably arranged toy element(s) it is possible to accomplish further effects by movement of the packaging.
According to a particularly preferred embodiment the packaged toy product arranged on a path is a model vehicle or a model vessel.
In a further preferred embodiment of the invention the toy product can conveniently comprise a further element, and wherein the indentation in the top face of the insert is configured such that the further element can be positioned in the indentation, and such that the indentation and the further element jointly form the above-mentioned path. Thus, it is hereby is possiblexe2x80x94provided the toy element arranged in the path is a vehicle, a vessel or the like wherein the packaged toy product also comprises rails, roads or the likexe2x80x94to display the functioning and interaction of such with the vehicle or the vessel in combination therewith by the vehicle or the vessel in the packaging moving along the rail or the road.